Intercultural Competence - UECA Townsin... · What is intercultural competence? Process Model of Intercultural ... Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Brooks

Intercultural

Competence

Louise Townsin UECA/ English Australia PD Fest, Adelaide, 25 October 2014

Steve Corey (2014) Flickr CC-BY-ND

If you want to know about water,

don’t ask a goldfish…

What is intercultural competence?


Definitions:

Intercultural learning is “the acquisition of general (transferable)

intercultural competence, that is competence that can be applied to

dealing with cross-cultural contact in general, not just skills useful for

dealing with a particular other culture”(Bennett, 2010, p. 2).

Intercultural competence is “the ability to communicate effectively and

appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural

knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (Deardorff, 2006, p. 248).

Monisha Pushparaj (2014) CC-BY-SA


History

International business

Peace Corps

Personality vs Behaviour

Dumitrescu (2006) Flickr CC-BY

Robinson (2008) Flickr CC-BY


Developmental Approach

Can be measured by Intercultural Development Inventory

(Hammer, Bennett & Wiseman, 2003)

THINKING POINT

Reflecting on your current students, how

interculturally sensitive do you think they would

rate themselves?

Have you seen examples of a mismatch between

how they see themselves and how you see them

in terms of intercultural competence?

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Process Model of Intercultural Competence

Deardorff (2006)


Perspectives… Scholarly focus needed on relationships (Deardorff, 2009)

Influence of interlocutors & context of interaction on the act

of interaction (Dervin, 2010)

Interculturalidad:

“respect for indigenous social

movements in their struggle to

gain recognition, share power,

in the public arena in Bolivia,

Ecuador and Peru”

(Aman, 2014, p. 83).

European Commission DG ECHO (2012) Flickr CC-BY-ND

Identity

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Kim (2009) proposes that individual

identity factors provide a base for the

skills associated with intercultural

competence.

Identity inclusivity (moving away

from a monocultural identity)

Identity security (confidence in self-

identity)

Transformation through cycle of

stress, adaptation and growth as

one experiences cultural differences

and engages in communication with

culturally different others.

THINKING POINT


Have you seen your students experience

culture shock?

How have you seen your students adapt

and grow in order to achieve better person-

environment fit?

Language Learning

The Five Savoirs (Byram, 1997)

Communicative competence

Native speaker model intercultural speaker model

Fisch (2011) Flickr CC-BY-SA Ruiz (2011) Flickr CC-BY-SA

Language Learning

“Grappling with another language challenges how one

perceives, conceptualizes, and expresses oneself; and in the

process, it opens the possibility of developing alternative

communication strategies on someone else's terms. This

humbling process often results in transcending and

transforming how one understands the world” (Fantini, 2001,

p. 2).

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Language Learning

Adapted from Nono Fara (2010) Flickr CC-BY Tim Morgan (2005) Flickr CC-BY

Language learning and intercultural competence are not

automatically calibrated

Excellent linguistic command & repeated contacts with

culturally different others…

Intercultural competence

(Zarate, 2003)

Student Mobility

Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Brooks & Waters (2011) argue that student

mobility plays an ambivalent role

Overseas study can challenge attitudes and

perspectives “because of an all-embracing

confrontation to a culture different from that at

home” (Teichler, 2002, p. 11)

But questions raised over dominance of

Western bodies of knowledge (Robinson-Pant, 2009)

Social segregation outside the classroom (Fincher & Shaw, 2009)

Racism/ discrimination in the host country (Collins, 2010)

“Horizontal” mobility more conducive to

“border-crossing communication and

discourse”(Teichler, 2002, p. 14).

How to encourage intercultural learning?

Cultural mentoring

Guided reflection

Inquiry into one’s own cultural

assumptions, values & practices

Explore another culture thru

understanding how own culture

influences interpretation of

experiences of another culture

(Marx & Moss, 2011)

Both images courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net



Language: vocabulary of cultural diversity & skills that support

demonstration of affective component of intercultural competence

Global variation of the English language appreciation and

attention to linguistic variety forms a base for sociolinguistic

awareness (Kinginger & Blattner, 2008)

Dialogic listening (listening by questioning) (Penman, 2014)

Autonomous learning (eg: training in ethnographic techniques)

(Aguilar, 2010)

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Interculturally competent teachers

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Detect occurrences of “solidification”

culture and identity as unfixed & multidimensional

Individuals navigate myriad different cultures

(sexual, generational, educational etc) & groups

complex identities entangled in connections

Pay attention to discourses

ethnocentric, racist, exotic, xenophilic

Aware of emotions could result

in culturalist conclusions

(Dervin, 2010)

Organisations can…

Curriculum, materials, assessment, pedagogy, induction of staff &

students, professional development, policies etc

Specific information about other countries and cultures not always

necessary (for teachers & students)

Organisation of classroom & processes

Support feeling & risk-taking within teaching

Provide teachers opportunity to develop in practice and in reflection

Encourage participation in learning experiences that involve risk & reflection

(Byram, Gribkova & Starkey, 2002)

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THINKING POINT

How would you rate the materials you currently use

in the classroom in terms of how “cultures” are

presented? Give examples.

How confident are you performing the role of

cultural mentor to your students?

Do you feel you need more support in developing

your own intercultural competence as a teacher?


Assessment

Can something which is an “intensely individual quest” be

assessed? (Kramsch, 1993, p. 257)

Commercially available tools

Image courtesy of Stuart Mile at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Self-assessment, reflective

journal, critical incident reports,

role plays

Portfolio: Autobiography of

Intercultural Encounters (Byram,

1997).

Scenario

One day, the lecturer asked him to demonstrate how Japanese people greet each other. Atsushi lifted his hand, wiggled his fingers, and said « hello ». Not satisfied, the lecturer insisted : « No, I mean how do you greet people in a formal situation ? » Atsushi shrugged and repeated that this was how he greeted people. Getting annoyed, the lecturer-who was of course expecting Atsushi to perform a bow-said « Okay then, how would you greet the emperor ? » Atsushi, feeling harassed, responded that he would prefer not to meet the emperor. Finally, the lecturer was obliged to perform the bow herself, but Atsushi felt stereotyped and kept complaining about the incident for weeks. (Breidenbach & Nyiri, 2009, p. 281).

Atsushi, an international student in Australia:

How would you attempt to repair the above relationship? In what

ways would your attempt demonstrate aspects of your intercultural

competence?

We often use nationality as a common starting point in intercultural

encounters. Why do you think the lecturer used the stereotype of

“bowing Japanese”? How is this stereotype formulated?

Questions?

Thank you for your attention

and participation today.

Kate Ter Haar (2010) Flickr CC-BY

References

Aguilar, M. (2010). Intercultural Communicative Competence as a Tool for Autonomous Learning. Revista canaria de estudios ingleses, (61), 87-98.

Aman, R. (2014). Why Interculturalidad is not Interculturality. Cultural Studies, 1–24. doi:10.1080/09502386.2014.899379

Bennett, M. (2004). Becoming Interculturally Competent. In J. Wurzel (Ed.), Toward multiculturalism: a reader in multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 62–77). Newton, MA:

Intercultural Resource Corporation.

Bennett, M. (2010). A short conceptual history of intercultural learning in study abroad. In W. Hoffa & S. Depaul (Eds) A history of U.S. study abroad: 1965-present. Special

publication of Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, pp. 419-449.

Breidenbach, J. and Nyiri, P. (2009). Seeing culture everywhere. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Brooks, R. and Waters, J. (2011). Student mobilities, migration and the internationalization of higher education. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Assessment (1st Ed.). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Byram, M., Gribkova, B. & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the intercultural dimension in language teaching: a practical introduction for teachers. Strasbourg: Council of

Europe.

Collins, F. (2006). Making Asian students, making students Asian: The racialisation of export education in Auckland, New Zealand. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 47(2), 217-234.

Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and Assessment of Intercultural Competence as a Student Outcome of Internationalization. Journal of Studies in International

Education, 10(3), 241–266. doi:10.1177/1028315306287002

Dervin, F. (2010). Assessing intercultural competence in language learning and teaching: a critical review of current efforts. In F. Dervin & E. Suomela-Salmi (eds.). New

Approaches to Assessment in Higher Education. (pp. 157-173). Bern: Peter Lang.

Fantini, A. (2001). Exploring intercultural competence: a construct proposal. Presented at NCOLCTC Fourth Annual Conference, Brattleboro, USA.

Fincher, R. and Shaw, K. (2009). The unintended segregation of transnational students in central Melbourne. Environment and planning. A, 41(8), 1884-1902.

Hammer, M. (2012). The Intercultural Development Inventory: A new frontier in assessment and development of intercultural competence. In M. Vande Berg, R.M. Paige, &

K.H. Lou (Eds.), Student Learning Abroad (Ch. 5, pp. 115-136). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Hammer, M. R., Bennett, M. J., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural

Relations, 27(4), 421–443. doi:10.1016/S0147-1767(03)00032-4

Kim, Y. Y. (2009). The identity factor in intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 53–65). Thousand Oaks,

California: SAGE Publications.

Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: OUP.

Kinginer, C., & Blattner, G. (2008). Histories of engagement and sociolinguistic awareness in study abroad. In L. Ortega & H. Byrnes (Eds.), The Longitudinal Study of

Advanced L2 Capacities (pp. 223–246). New York: Routledge.

Marx, H., & Moss, D. M. (2011). Please Mind the Culture Gap: Intercultural Development During a Teacher Education Study Abroad Program. Journal of Teacher

Education, 62(1), 35–47. doi:10.1177/0022487110381998

Penman, R. (2014). Dialogic listening. Retrieved from https://centerforinterculturaldialogue.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/key-concept-dialogic-listening.pdf.

Robinson‐Pant, A. (2009). Changing academies: exploring international

PhD students' perspectives on ‘host’ and ‘home’ universities. Higher Education Research & Development, 28(4), 417-429, DOI: 10.1080/07294360903046876

Teichler, U. (2004). The changing debate on internationalisation of higher education. Higher education, 48(1), 5-26.

Zarate, G. (2003). Identities and plurilingualism: preconditions for the recognition of intercultural competences. In M. Byram. (ed.). Intercultural competence (pp. 84-119),

Strasburg: Council of Europe.

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Intercultural Competence - UECA Townsin... · What is intercultural competence? Process Model of Intercultural ... Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Brooks